Think Ollie Wines come out of contract next season.
Devon - is Don is good.
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I was was happy when we got Smith.
I am now very happy having heard him speak and what he has had to say in various interviews since.
He sounds like a very determined player who knows exactly what he wants out of football. Sounds like he did as much research into Ess as we did into him. Also he is happy to ānot agreeā with what people say about him and the way he plays. He sounds as focused and driven as Zach Merrett.
I think we got a good one.
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Massive upgrade on Colyer for mine.
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With the injuries GWS had this year any other team would have not even made the 8 let alone top 4. I think the loss to Richmond will give them a wake up call about not just being able to play perfect football. In saying that though if Shiel was not injured the game could have turned out differently.
Correct re the injuries and finals. Altho some of the Iinjuries were to injury prone players (deledio, Griffin etc).
Similar to Geelong, albeit the have a better core group not just 2 players , they can manage to finish high up the ladder most seasons , but atm they just donāt have the ability to dominate finals. That may come , it may not.
But like I said players keep leaving, so that luck of being able to cover said injury run may run out very quickly.
3 players so far , whether they rates them highly or not , means they either have to get 3 new young kids in , or 3 older potentially passed their best players in.
Supposedly last year was a wake up call also .
Like I said just my opinion , but I reckon in a year or two they may drop down again due to he reasons above.
If that happens a exodus of top line players may start to happen.
The only thing atm that have kept the likes of Cameron, Kelly etc etc there , isnāt he allure of success. Another season or two of no success , and like I said imo the wheels will come off very quixkly
I hope the wheels fall off too. Both expansion clubs can fold, would have preferred a team in Tasmania.
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His radio interviews are very impressive. hit up efc site for them
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I think weāve done very, very well in this deal. I said at the start we should be targeting this guy straight off the bat. Heās better than Prestia and Richmond gave up pick 6 for him, Smith is faster, more agile, more verstaile and more skilled both in the midfield and definitely more up forward. To get him for 11 and then also get 23 and another second rounder back next year in a strong draft is outstanding. Saad might have the pace in the highlights packages, Stringer might be the match winner but Smith will make us much more consistent in the midfield and give a badly needed hand to Zerrett and Heppell.
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Hi kicking is incredible, going to be awesome to have an inside mid whose kicking is a weapon and selfishly attacking.
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Definitely got more tricks than Prestia
Looking forward to seeing what he can do as a main midfielder. Heād have point to prove.
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If McGrath and Parish improve as expected, Heppell goes back to near his best (not this years rubbish) and Zerrett and Zaharakis perform, throw in Devon Smith and Stringer then Iām starting to develop a chub about our chances next year.
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This āyou need a tall midā stuff is crap, if we win with these blokes they will be hailing our speedy nuggety midfield, everyone says Bird is a contested mid he 180 cm, same as Zerret & Parish, Dylan shell is 182 and Kelly is 184, does 2-4 cm make difference in getting clearance? Two way strong runners is what we need, development of some of our boys and adding Smith will improve our midfield, if Mutch can come up after being second in VFL B and F would be a good add too.
9 Likes
Heights not so much the issue for mine, but size of our midfielders, quite a few can be pushed off the ball by players like shiel, martin, kennedy, half of adelaide.
getting someone that can spread whilst also not be a prop for other teams would be nice.
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They can put on size, thatās what the gym and another preseason is for, our midfield leg speed and spread should out weigh height issue
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Gleesons been doing that and hes barely upgrade from a beanpole to a branch
The commentary about Gleeson and his lack of size is massively overstated
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Watching him get ragdolled in the dying seconds to lose a game by a point is the kind of thing that sticks in the mind.
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Iām not worried about his lack of sizeā¦ some players are just tougher than othersā¦ this guy is very rarely beaten for the ball and has a terrific work rate. Has a low centre of gravity and breaks tackles using lower body power.
We went the ābig bodyā route and it sucked (hello Myers) so Iām glad to see a change of approach and go for speed and good ball use instead.
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Especially when itās illegally so.
I donāt even work out but I could pick up and move a standing person if I wasnāt required to pay heed to the rules of Australian Rules Football
3 Likes